Tag Archive: John Klang

In 2006 a then 15-year-old Eric Hainstock shot and killed John Klang in the halls of Weston Schools where Klang was the principal. The usual excuses were given, he was bullied, he had a hard home life, etc. Hainstock has become a favorite of the pearl-twisters since he was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison.

Hainstock had previously tried to get a new trial saying his counsel was ineffective but that appeal was denied.

Last week The Wisconsin Court of Appeals upheld Hainstock’s conviction once again denying him a new trial. This time it was argued that his confession should have been ruled inadmissible which the court agreed with. However the court also ruled that witness testimony would have been more than enough to convict Hainstock and send him to prison for life.

Now before everyone gets all weepy eyed over this punk spending his life in prison John Klang actually tried to help Hainstock with not only the alleged bullying but also with Hainstock’s home life. However he suspended Hainstock for being caught with cigarettes which was his job and Hainstock fires a number of bullets into him at almost point-blank range.

That’s not someone I want in my society.

Hainstock’s lawyer says he will appeal to the Wisconsin Supreme Court but I have to say what I always say in these cases.

John Klang doesn’t have the luxury of appealing his unwarranted death sentence.

Eric Hainstock was sentenced to life in prison for the shooting death of Weston schools principal John Klang. Hainstock was 15 when he killed Principal Klang. He’s been one of those that the kid criminal crowd have touted that he was too young to be sentenced to adult prison. They say he was bullied (boo-hoo) and abused at home. Still no reason to kill a man with a family.

Anyway Hainstock tried to appeal for a new trial before and was denied and then he said he would represent himself. Apparently he’s had a change of heart with representing himself because not only does he have a new attorney but he’s appealing for a new trial once again.

His lawyer is saying that Hainstock was too mentally ill to know how to waive his Miranda rights and that he received improper counsel since his lawyer did not try to have the trial relocated.

He did have the mental capacity of course to take two guns to school and still commit murder when one of his guns were taken away.

The last time we checked in on John Klang’s convicted killer the lawyer for Eric Hainstock wanted to stop representing his client because the attorney felt there were no more chances for appeal. This past Friday it was made official as Hainstock appeared in court telling the judge that he had no problem with his attorney quitting and that he would represent himself on future appeals.

Hainstock claims that he’s already found grounds for appeal by reading the prison’s law books.

So this kid who couldn’t even finish high school without killing his principal thinks he’s smarter than someone who has acquired a law degree. Let me know how that works out for you.

Hainstock’s abusive father, Shawn Hainstock, was quoted as saying, “This is not what I wanted.” Maybe you should have thought of that before you abused your own son. As far as I’m concerned you should be in prison with him.

Eric Hainstock continues to blame everyone but himself for the shooting death of Weston Schools principal John Klang.

Hainstock’s appeals lawyer just recently filed a motion to withdraw from being Hainstock’s counsel. Attorney Paul G. Bonneson believes that Hainstock has no legitimate grounds to appeal his life sentence after his previous request for a new jury trial was denied.

However Hainstock wants to continue appealing his sentence on his own. And we all know what they say about a man who represents himself.

John Klang’s killer will not be receiving a new trial. Sauk County (WI) Circuit Court Judge Patrick Taggart said in a written ruling that Eric Hainstock received a fair trial for the shooting death of Principal Klang in the halls of Weston High School. Judge Taggart said that the jury had plenty of other evidence that showed Hainstock was intent on killing Klang.

“There is the physical evidence of the multiple shots delivered in close contact to the victim,” he writes. “Hainstock’s statements to others that Klang would not live to see homecoming (that evening), defendant’s statements to the janitor that he was there with two weapons to “(expletive) kill someone.”

Hainstock, who was 15 at the time of the 2006 murder, is serving a life sentence.

This is an article from the alternative weekly in Wisconsin called Isthmus. In it are a series of letters that Eric Hainstock wrote to the publication. For those of you who may not remember Hainstock was 15 when he shot and killed Principal John Klang of the Weston Schools. Hainstock was tried as an adult and sentenced to live in prison with a possibility of parole in 2037.

In his letters Hainstock sort of takes responsibility for his actions…

Hainstock says some people in prison have told him he’s “cool” for having killed his principal. He corrects them: “No, I’m not. I took a life. He can’t go to his daughter’s wedding. He can’t walk her down the aisle.”

But for most of the article as usual he blames his situation on everyone but himself…

“When I was 15 years old I shot my high school principal. I never meant for this to happen. He grabbed me from behind and I got scared. I was already pretty stressed, so that freaked me out even more. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not blaming Mr. Klang for grabbing me. But I am blaming him, the teachers, social services and the school as a whole for never listening to me…. No one ever listened.”

The article goes on about how much he learned in prison but I guess he still hasn’t learned that everyone is responsible for their own actions. The article also says that he likes prison more compared to his old life. I’m glad that was arranged for him.

Eric Hainstock has been sentenced to life behind bars with the possibility of parole in 30 years for the shooting death of Weston Schools principal John Klang.

Judge Patrick Taggart said that he considered Hainstock’s age and background before sentencing. He said that he believes the teen can be rehabilitated, WISC-TV reported.

Defense attorneys had requested parole eligibility after 20 years while the state had requested 49 years with the date of eligibility being Sept.29, 2056 — or 50 years after the shooting at Weston Schools, WISC-TV reported.

The jurors who convicted Hainstock said that they focused on the guns and ammunition that he brought to school and the number of shots fired in determining his intent to murder.

Juror Brian Ludolph, of Prairie du Sac, said on Friday the fact numerous shots were fired by Hainstock convinced them the student intended to kill Klang. Ludolph said that Hainstock bringing the guns and ammunition to school also played into their finding of intent.

Juror Diana Mielke, of North Freedom, said that the jury was initially split on whether Hainstock intended to kill Klang.

Mielke said that she was initially among the six who thought Hainstock didn’t have intent to kill, but changed her mind after recalling Hainstock’s lack of emotion during the trial.

Thankfully there was a jury with common sense who recognized Hainstock’s intent and weren’t fooled by his lies.

Justice has been served.

While you’re at WISC’s website take the poll and let them know how you feel about the verdict and sentence. You can probably guess how I voted.